I'm sorry to hear about your guys injuries. I'm not sure about the negligence, I think that it would depend on the laws of your state but it probably falls under some type of protection law for a boarding facility.

There is hope.

Thanks. Sorry to hear the troubles your horse went through! Good to know that horses can have a good outcome or at least an acceptable outcome to this kind of injury. Really don't want my horse to be a pasture puff for the rest of his life...he's only two - doesn't turn three until May. BTW, did your horse wear any kind of immobilizing splint or boot after the surgery? Wondering..because my vet didn't recommend anything like this.

I really don't know what to think regarding the negligence. Seems to me, if I owned the business, I would do everything possible to secure the health and welfare of the animals and to especially reduce my liabilities. Accidents happen but this one could have been avoided.

I would say it's worth talking to someone with legal knowledge, here in Britain there is the CAB. Going off what I've read I think your claim is shaky at best since you knew there was a problem with the wire but you still took your horse onto that yard instead of going somewhere that didn't have a problem. In something like this it will be your word against the BO's.

I suppose you are planning on finding a new boarding barn for your daughter and you?

Owning horses is a risky thing. They hurt themselves. You knew there was a risk.

Just curious, does your daughter's horse go out in that pasture? (Kind of guessing that is why you were taking photos of horses running in that pasture.)

To me it sounds like you are trying to blame someone for something that happens with horses. I mean really, how dare the barn owner not stand there and watch your horse the entire time your horse was turned out with another horse. How dare the BO not jump and fix the fence when you pointed out it was not 100%. And even more horrible, how dare the BOs vet not drop things to run to your aid.

I would guess that the BO did watch the horses for a while and they seemed fine so they BO then went about their business. If you were that concerned you knew the plan for the day, why were you not there to supervise yourself?
It is the top wire of the fence that is sagging in one area it appears from your photos. Though it is not best I can see why no one jumped to fix it. It is not sagged low enough that it is a real imminent risk (not like it is the bottom strand and it is hanging on the ground in other words).
Could the BOs vet have been busy with a different emergency and not have been able to drop it to come attend to yours?

I would also look into it. I honostly don't know. When it happened to my horse I had no one to blame but myself. I had a pile of left over aluminum siding next to the riding arena which is not fenced. It was on a hill near the barn but the child riding the horse did not have enough control and the horse trotted on up to the nicer grace and took just one tiny step back. Severed the tendons in the one leg and the artery in the other. It was a pretty scary situation, the next day, it took me less then ten minutes to move the siding to a safer location.

The first couple days after the surgery she was in a cast. (a real cast like what a human would have on a broken arm or leg). After the first couple days the vet removed the cast and then used the back half of it as a brace. So we wrapped with cotton wrap and then a sticky ace type bandage, placed the cast over that and then with the k-flex tape. It was a daily thing for about 4 weeks after she came home from the hospital, she was there for two....

I am so sorry to hear this We had a Arab mare that completly "degloved" her back leg near the hock on high tensile cattle wire. She didn't see it and trotted right into it. It cut her up really bad, and it was down to the tendons. She was on stall rest for months, but she recovered fully with no lameness in the hock or the leg. She only had a scar where the wire had touched her. Keep us updated on your guy. Maybe things will turn out for the better

The photo with the white paint with the fly mask? Slightly sagging maybe but I certainly wouldn't be overly concerned about it.

With only one leg injured it is very likely your BO is correct and it was a lower wire that caused the injury. Horses kick high with BOTH back legs using their front end to get more 'umph'. Actually a sagging wire would be forgiving but a tight wire would cut.

We just had the "safe for horses fencing" discussion here last week. It doesn't matter if you put the horse in a round rubber padded room - a horse can and will find a way to hurt itself.

I suppose you are planning on finding a new boarding barn for your daughter and you?

Perhaps. But my horse is in no condition to move at the present time and my daughter and I really like the barn and the barn owner.

Owning horses is a risky thing. They hurt themselves. You knew there was a risk.

Indeed.

Just curious, does your daughter's horse go out in that pasture? (Kind of guessing that is why you were taking photos of horses running in that pasture.)

Yep, on Saturday we spent the entire day there. Had the injury occurred on that day, it would be different circumstances.

To me it sounds like you are trying to blame someone for something that happens with horses. I mean really, how dare the barn owner not stand there and watch your horse the entire time your horse was turned out with another horse. How dare the BO not jump and fix the fence when you pointed out it was not 100%. And even more horrible, how dare the BOs vet not drop things to run to your aid.

How dare she do this? Well, she is the barn owner and it is her business. She should have fixed the fence when it was brought to her attention as it was her responsibility to do so.I believe it was a reasonable request on my part.

I would guess that the BO did watch the horses for a while and they seemed fine so they BO then went about their business. If you were that concerned you knew the plan for the day, why were you not there to supervise yourself?

I trusted her superior knowledge about acclimating a new horse to her herd. I wasn't concerned on Saturday as the injury didn't happen till Sunday. BTW, I pay her for her services which includes the supervision, care, & safety of my horse and my daughter's.

It is the top wire of the fence that is sagging in one area it appears from your photos. Though it is not best I can see why no one jumped to fix it. It is not sagged low enough that it is a real imminent risk (not like it is the bottom strand and it is hanging on the ground in other words).
Could the BOs vet have been busy with a different emergency and not have been able to drop it to come attend to yours?

I have other photos that show the top wire sagging down to the third wire. I was just curious why the BO said the top wire wasn't sagging at all when it clearly was? The BO called several vets & none were available-this does concern me.

All tragic accidents do not mean someone else has to pay.

True, not all, but sometimes someone else does have to pay. That's life and truly it's not personal.

I would say it's worth talking to someone with legal knowledge, here in Britain there is the CAB. Going off what I've read I think your claim is shaky at best since you knew there was a problem with the wire but you still took your horse onto that yard instead of going somewhere that didn't have a problem. In something like this it will be your word against the BO's.

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